It is 42 years since they last won a major international trophy, yet England are still regarded as a footballing superpower. They might have a few world-class players at club level, and arguably the best league in the world, but that standing does not automatically transfer to the international stage, nor does it give them the right to coast to victory in every game. Have people forgotten the home defeat to Croatia last year that saw England miss out on Euro 2008?
So while the fans have a right to vent their frustration at timid, perhaps fearful, displays against teams like Kazakhstan - who can't even find studs for their boots back home - maybe their expectations need to become more realistic. A 5-1 victory - flattering after three late goals - would leave most content and the coach, Fabio Capello, admits it is the result that matters. But there is a growing feeling that England's performances will rarely satisfy, and their players will continue to feel the brunt of criticism when things are not perfect. The jeers for Ashley Cole's every touch, after his careless backpass allowed Zhambyi Kukeyev to score for Kazakhstan, are a sign of the times. Abuse for Frank Lampard has become second nature too, forcing the stand-in captain Rio Ferdinand to admit some fans should be "ashamed" and calling for support, not stick.
"It was just a minority of fans who started booing, and it was the immature ones that went the wrong way," he said. "I hope those fans will be swayed by the more knowledgeable ones and respectable fans that were there on the day. Ashley's fine. He's an experienced player and he's been through ups and downs in his career, so I'm sure he can deal with this, no problem. "Everyone is human, and people make mistakes. We are big enough to hold our hands up when we have made a mistake, but it is not made any easier when you have got your own fans booing you.
"I hope people on reflection will make sure they don't do that again. It is not about getting on their backs; it is about getting behind them."Ferdinand opened the scoring after a goalless first half, but it was only a double from Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe that put the gloss on a below-par showing. But he added: "Gone are the days when you wipe teams away in the first 20 minutes of a game. "Every now and again it might happen, but sometimes you have got to play and wait for 60 minutes. Then you get the breakthrough; the game opens up and you end up winning 3-0 or 4-0.
"You have got to be patient. I think that is something we have got to come to terms with as football fans and as players." Whether that happens remains to be seen. The boos for Cole left Capello baffled and even prompted the FA to brand it "crazy". Roy Hodgson, who has coached the UAE, Switzerland and Finland, is also concerned. The current Fulham manager said: "It's a bit sad because players playing for England don't make mistakes deliberately and nobody will have been more upset than Ashley Cole himself."
It is something Capello and his players will hope creeps away. After Croatia's draw in Ukraine, England face Belarus on Wednesday, top of Group Six with three wins out of three and still on course for the 2010 World Cup finals. Ultimately, that is what matters. @Email:akhan@thenational.ae
